Hockey and more…

“Greedy”, “Stupid” or “The right thing to do”???

Here I am, with some time on my hands again. I decided to write this little blog for a few reasons, which you will see. With today’s social media (Twitter, Facebook and the Internet in general) you can access information quickly and read various articles, comments and so on.

I know that some people are on the owners’ side, some people are taking the players’ side, and some people blame both parties in this lockout.

The reason why I am writing this is because I have been hearing and reading a lot about people saying players are “greedy”. At the same time these people say we, the players, are “stupid” because we will lose more money if this lockout continues.

Here is my question to you: How can you call players “greedy” and “stupid” at the same time when we are trying to fight for our rights and get a deal done that is fair for both sides? Hockey players have very short careers and we know that we are risking losing money to stand up for our rights and for the rights of future players that will follow us. The players before us took many stands that have benefited everyone playing in the NHL today and we are committed to reaching a deal that we believe in is fair; I don’t think that is “greed”. We have never asked for more money from the owners. We are the ones offering to give lots of dollars back to the owners so we can get back on the ice.

This is obviously about a really big amount of money. If we as players fight for what we think is fair, knowing we might lose more money in the short-termthan if we would take their offer, I personally don’t think you can call that being “greedy”. We have offered a 50/50 split as long as the owners honour the contracts they have already signed. And we are the only side making real sacrifices trying to get a deal done.

People have being fighting for their rights and fairness for hundreds of years. People might disagree with me because from the outside, a lot of people only see the numbers presented to them and what they read in articles and in other media outlets. This is more than just numbers, it is our career and livelihood.

That was it for today again hope you enjoyed it, even if you disagree with me ;).